Jay-Z Calls Beyonce ‘Michael Jackson’s Second Coming’

Celebrating the release of his 'Watch the Throne' album, Jay-Z did it bigger than ever this weekend, performing at a mobbed pop-up shop in downtown Manhattan to hype his record, spending a reported $250,000 on champagne at a release party and even finding time to make some "blasphemous" claims about his wife.

Several hours before attempting to set the bottle-popping record at Miami's LIV nightclub on Sunday (August 14), Jay-Z had some equally extravagant things to say about Beyonce, whom he compared to Michael Jackson in an interview with local radio station 99 Jamz.

"What I've learned from her is similar to what I learned from Mike [Jackson] - and I know that's blasphemy to compare the two because Mike was such an innovator -- but I think she's like the second coming," Jay said. "You know, the hard work and dedication that she puts into her shows. It just makes you want to work harder at your own craft. She's like a machine."

Jay also discussed his attempt to break the record for bubbly, which he apparently managed to do, leaving the waitstaff with a whopping $50,000 tip at the end of the night.

"I'm just coming to hang out," Jay joked in the interview. "I'm gonna break the record for bottles popped in one night. I don't know what the record is but I'm assuming since it's Miami, it's gotta be somewhere around 75 bottles. I'm going that way."

Jay-Z and Kanye West's 'Watch the Throne' is in stores now. Pop a bottle.